H E X A D E C I M A L
by VermillionSky
Summary: When the Dark Lord returned, nobody expected this. Everyone from Hogwarts finds themselves back at the school, only they soon find out things aren't what they seemed. Please R&R. [Chapter 7 Up!]
1. Don't You Recognise My Voice?

**H E X A D E C I M A L**

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**A VermillionSky Story**

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_Disclaimer: This fic is rated M and will most likely contain the following at some point in the story - swearing, acts of violance, and scenes of a sexual nature. If you don't like the idea of that, then turn back. I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned, and this is a non-profitable piece of work._

_Foreword: To date, I've written a number of pieces of fanfiction, and all but one of them have focused on sexuality. Even further, that one fic has been abandoned. I'll never finish it. But my last fic to be completed (The Last Innocent Weasley) took me months to write. I couldn't get the motivation to write it, and struggled towards the end. Perhaps my times of writing romance fics are numbered. Sure I have other possible ideas for them, but I find myself no longer able to put those into words, into fanfics. Recently, I've felt the need to broaden my horizons, stretch out, and this idea hit me. First it was the idea, the basic premise, then came the story or game to base it on. I'm not sure if that was the best way to go about things, but time will tell. This foreword has gone on long enough too - so let the games begin..._

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**P A R T - I  
** Don't You Recognise My Voice?

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The room kicked into view as he opened his eyes, blurred shapes spun around him as his hand automatically went for his glasses on the table near his bed. They weren't there. In fact, nor was the table, and as his body started up he realised there wasn't even a bed. Cold stone rubbed against his elbows, and his hand hit a flagstone as his unconcious move to grab his glasses continued on, sending vibrations through both his arm and the immediate area with a faint thud.

Where was he?

"Ahh, our friend is at last awake."

The voice filled the room, and Harry had no idea in which direction it originated from. The room was dark, and even with his glasses he probably wouldn't have been able to see much. He felt a slight twinge of panic inside him, but caught himself quickly. He wasn't about to scream and cry, he had to keep his head. He sat up straight, squinting as he tried in vain to see anything.

"Who's there?" he asked, concentrating in keeping his voice steady.

"Aaahhhhhhh..."

Whispers flew in all directions, undecipherable noise that echoed all around him, closing in, backing off, darting everywhere. He staggered to his feet, spinning around, his hands flailing as if to bat off the sound. But it was no use, the whispers grew louder with every passing moment. He pressed his hands to his ears, fighting a new urge to scream, but the noise failed to quell. It was no use, and he found himself giving up, a yell emitting from his open mouth, his eyes screwed shut, as he hoped for the agonising noises to stop.

And they did.

The room had gone quiet.

Had it been a dream? He continued standing in the same spot, his eyes still shut, his hands still against his ears. His heavy breathing was the only noise he could hear. He opened his eyes, and moved his hands. And then it started, a steady laugh coming from directly ahead. He took a breath and looked up, but he couldn't see a thing. Where were his glasses? Then the laughing stopped, as quickly as it'd started.

"Don't you recognise my voice, Harry?"

And then it hit him. Who the voice was. How had he been so slow at recognising it, the voice that had terrorised his dreams, the voice that everyone dreaded, the voice belonging to the most famous, and yet most feared, wizard of all time.

It was Voldemort.

**¬**

What was going on? How had he ended up in this room, this place, without his glasses, without his wand, with the most feared wizard in the world in the room with him? Questions. But questions he couldn't answer. He tried to remember how he'd gotten there, but all his mind returned was blackness, swirling blurs akin to what he was seeing at the moment.

"Hahaha," the voice continued, "I seems that you do remember after all..."

Harry clenched his teeth, the mixture of confusion and terror rendering him paralyzed. Yet even if he forced himself to speak, what would he say? What could he say?

"What's this - Harry Potter - speechless!" Voldemort growled from the blackness ahead. "Perhaps this'll clear things up a bit!"

And with that the room burst into light, and from somewhere in front of him his glasses flew right onto his head, bringing into focus a stone room, candles lit on all sides, but only for a split-second, before Harry found himself hurled backwards by an unseen force, crashing back down to the floor. But he caught his thoughts quickly, and looked up almost immediately at the shadow that fell over him.

It was Voldemort, standing over him, cloaked fully in black, his narrow snakelike eyes the first things Harry noticed about his pale face. Memories of the Triwizard Tournament came flooding back. And those eyes, as they were that last time, were full of hatred, contempt. Evil.

"So we meet again..."

Harry didn't reply. He kept his stare right at Voldemort, the man who'd killed his parents. He wasn't going to give him an inch. But Voldemort just stared right back, and his face broke into a chuckle, a twisted grin as his eyes lit with cold flames.

"Ever the fearless warrior," he spat, "just like your father..."

Harry broke, yelling out as he jumped from the floor without even thinking, but was brought crashing back down almost instantly, his knees pounding against the cold stone floor, pain shooting through his body. Voldemort chuckled softly, lowering his wand the minute distance he'd moved it to block Harry's 'attack'. Harry glared at him, trying to collect his thoughts. What was happening to him, if this wasn't a dream, and Voldemort had somehow caught him, then why was he still alive?

"You'll find out soon enough." He'd been read like a book, and Harry twinged as a jolt of pain surged through his scar.

And with that, with a flick of his wand, Voldemort had vanished. Harry staggered to his feet, still reeling from the encounter. More questions appeared in his mind, but he couldn't answer any of them. He set about examining the room, which seemed to be made entirely of stone. There were no windows, and worryingly too, no door. He spend an hour looking around every wall for a way out, then moved onto the floor and the ceiling. Nothing. He was a prisoner, whether he liked it or not. A million questions, but no answers. It was worrying that he was in a room with no exit or entrance, and worrying that he had no memory of being taken there.

What was most confusing though, was that he was still alive. He should be dead by now, and the only thing he kept on coming back to was that he was being kept for something. Something was going to happen, and it would involve him...

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_Just a preview, the story'll get going properly in the next few chapters, trust me! Hope you liked what's happened so far, and any reviews are most welcome..._


	2. You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourselves

**H E X A D E C I M A L**

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**A VermillionSky Story  
**

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_Disclaimer: This fic is rated M and will most likely contain the following at some point in the story - swearing, acts of violance, and scenes of a sexual nature. If you don't like the idea of that, then turn back. I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned, and this is a non-profitable piece of work._

_Foreword: Many thanks to the two reviewers of the last chapter, I did hope for more but there weren't even that many hits on the story either. Never mind, I'll plough straight on with Part II, where the story'll get going a lot more. Enjoy._

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**P A R T - II   
**You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourselves

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Ron woke to bright sunlight drifting in through the windows. He squinted momentarily, as his eyes adjusted to the light, and lay there, staring at the canvas above him, of the four-poster bed he'd slept in. He'd always loved those morning moments, where you could just lie there, doing nothing, nothing to worry about. Birdsong drifted into the room from outside, something he'd alway-

With a flash, he bolted upright.

What the fuck was going on? The four-poster bed, the room he was in, he was at Hogwarts!

He gazed around the dormitory, five similar beds placed around it, all of them empty, but nethertheless the same beds that had always been there. It was too real to be a dream, he really was back at the wizarding school. But how he'd gotten there, he had no idea... He pushed his mind as hard as he could, trying in vain to remember something of some use. But it was no use, the last thing he remembered was being back at the Burrow after the terrible events of the last school year.

And then another realisation hit him. He should never have been back at Hogwarts anyway. The events of last year - Death Eaters gaining entry to the grounds, Dumbledore's death... Snape, Harry's talk about finding Hocruxes. The school had supposedly been closed, nobody should have been returning to it next year, let along during these summer holidays... The bad feeling that had appeared in the foot of his stomach seemed to grow, whatever this was, it wasn't good.

And here was Ron Weasley, lying in his bed whilst Merlin-knows-what was going on around the rest of the castle! You idiot, he cursed himself, before dragging himself away from the warm covers to get changed.

**¬**

As he got up he began to hear some sort of a commotion coming from the common room below, and grabbed his wand from the desk before pressing his ear against the closed door. He couldn't make out anything but the noise of raised voices and occasional loud bangs - probably magical spells, and he decided to get a move on, grabbing his robes from the foot of his bed and pulling them on hurriedly. His prefect badge was there too, and hoping that he would have some kind of authority with it on, he pinned it on and sprinted from the dorm.

**¬**

The common room was more of a mess than he'd anticipated. Some chairs and sofas were on their sides, their cushions tossed anywhere. It was the same for the tables, and Ron even saw one broken clean in half, now piled up against one of the walls. And the room was heaving, most of the house seemed to be there at once, from first years he barely recognised up to his own year group. He saw his sister in the midst of a huge group of Gryffindors, her voice clearly audiable even above everyone else in the room.

Everyone was talking at once, some people seemed to be upset, some angry, others trying to calm things down. But just by looking at the chaos taking place in the usually peaceful common room, Ron's concerns that something was terribly wrong were confirmed.

And as he stood there, halfway up the staircase up to the dorms, trying to think of ways to sort things out, the noise continued. Then the room was filled with sparks and flashes as the students began drawing their wands at each other, he saw one young girl send one of the third years flying against a far wall with a flick of her wand. A split-second later he heard a huge crash, and Ron glanced up in time to see a couple of third year boys dive onto one of the (yet unbroken) tables, involved in a full blown fight. That was the final staw. This was Gryffindor, since when had there been fighting within the house?

Fuck it, this'd shut everyone up. His hand flew to his pocket, grabbing his wand and raising it towards the ceiling with a cry of 'DEBECIO'! A deafening boom seemed to shake the entire tower they were in, the windows rattling in their frames, and a couple of candles going out with the force. And then there was silence. And gradually, everyone's heads turned to face Ron, stood above them all with his wand held high.

Shit, now what? With everyone's eyes on him, he wished for the millionth time that he'd thought his actions through. What could he possibly say? But it didn't matter.

"Thank you Ronald," shouted a voice, a female voice he recognised instantly.

Hermione appeared at the bottom of the staircase, pushing her way through the crowd, before climbing the steps 'til she reached where he was. He breathed a sigh of relief, no more pressure on him now that 'Mione had finally turned up!

She half smiled at him, probably her way of thanking him and telling him that 'that was all he had to do!', before turning to everyone else, all still waiting for guidance of some kind. Any kind. Heck, Ron didn't have a clue.

"Ok, I know that everyone's wondering what on Earth is going on here," she started, met with a few nods of approval from below, "but fighting between ourselves isn't the answer. Really, I'd expect that from Slytherin, not from Gryffindor. And using magic too, you should all be ashamed..."

The room was deathly silent, Ron couldn't believe how she'd managed to scold them without creating another riot, but she'd done it, and no doubt now she'd go about getting things put back to 'normal' whilst figuring out what was going on, at the same time. No doubt at all.

She continued on, "what we need now is-" but was cut off as another deafening boom shook the walls around the room, similar to the Debacio spell Ron'd used only a minute before, but much more powerful. Then, with the room in a commotion again, it was plunged into darkness, the fire and the candles all extinguishing simultaneously, replaced by a darkness to deep that even the sunlight through the windows didn't pierce it.

**¬**

Dean Thomas cursed out loud as the room shuddered for a second time, this time accompanied by darkness. Which bloody wanker had cast that spell? Hermione was right, they were acting like Slytherins at the moment. Someone collided with him in the darkness, despite the fact that he hadn't moved, and that pushed him over the edge. He spun around and fired a Hex into the blackness, only to be hit by one himself, before stepping backwards and tripping over something on the floor as pain shot through his limbs.

Commotion had broken out again, but the darkness vanished as quickly as it had appeared. It'd probably only lasted a few seconds at most, and as the room came back into view Dean picked himself up and cast an eye around for the bumbling fool he'd hit with an annoying belch Hex. Everyone was picking themselves up or dusting themselves down, the fighting seemed to have stopped as soon as the spell did.

Thank fuck for that, he thought, at last Hermione can get this lot sorted.

But as soon as he looked up he knew something was wrong.

Hermione and Ron were nowhere to be seen...

**¬**

_Now that chapter didn't actually get much sorted out in the way of a plot, but the next one definately will, until then, I won't put a proper story summary up. Not that it matters..._

_After writing bits of the next chapter, this one was altered quite a bit, adding that Dean Thomas bit in at the end in addition to a few more sentences and adjectives here and there. Nothing terribly major, but important nontheless.  
_


	3. I Don't Believe We've Met

**H E X A D E C I M A L**

**¬**

**A VermillionSky Story**

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_Disclaimer: This fic is rated M and will most likely contain the following at some point in the story - swearing, acts of violance, and scenes of a sexual nature. If you don't like the idea of that, then turn back. I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned, and this is a non-profitable piece of work._

_Foreword: Again, thanks for the kind reviews this fic has recieved, and I can't apologise enough for the stupidly long time it's taken me to update with a third chapter. I also went back over the last chapter though and added a few sentences here and there, just slight improvements. This chapter (at last) explains a little more about what's going on, and sets the ball rolling for the main part, which should be superb... Enjoy!_

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**P A R T - III  
** I Don't Believe We've Met...

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She'd finally opened her eyes, not in the natural way everyone would like to wake up every day, but rather in a totally unnatural way after she was woken from her dreams with a jolt. She blinked once as her eyes focused on her roommates, stood over her, shaking her violently.

"Stop!" she finally cried. Wasn't it obvious that she was awake already? And what was their problem, she'd never been woken up by her roommates before, never in her time at Hog-

She almost jumped out of bed, but instead just jolted upright, staring wide-eyed at the two girls stood around her. Lavender nodded silently, as if Hermione had answered her unspoken quesitons.

"What's going on...?" Hermione whispered, though she knew already that Lavender and Parvati didn't know. Both girls glanced at each other, before Lavender, evidently the one elected to speak, did so.

"Well, we were kind of hoping you could tell us that..."

**¬**

"So noone you've spoken to has a clue about how we all ended up back at Hogwarts?" Hermione said, more of a statement than a question. She'd pulled on her robes - the only clothes available, all folded and stacked neatly by the side of her bed - while Lavender told her what they knew. Parvati hardly said a word, only adding bits to her friend's story when she felt it necessary.

The other two girls nodded, Lavender with slight chuckle. "Crazy isn't it?"

Hermione was already greatly worried, and indeed disturbed, about the events that seemed to be unfolding, or rather had already unfolded. She shook her head.

"No, this is far from crazy," she said softly, "after what went on last year nobody should be back at Hogwarts. Dumbledore's not around any more, and with Death Eaters everywhere this isn't the safe place it used to be. Far from it..." she finished, her voice drifting off into thought, and in particular a terrible feeling that had just entered her mind.

"You think You-Know-Who has something to do with this?" Parvati whispered feverishly, the fear clear in her shaking voice. Hermione knew there was no point in pretending she didn't, pretending that the thought of Voldemort behind this occurance hadn't just crept into her brain. She just nodded. Parvati was visibly shaken as the full extent of their predicament sank in, and tears welled up in her eyes before Lavender put a reassuring arm around her and she began sobbing into her friend's shoulder.

Hermione didn't care. Her mind was already racing through possible actions to take, things to do, information to find out. She wanted some parchment, but glancing around the room saw none. Something on her desk caught her attention though, and she recognised it immediately - her prefects badge - what on earth was that doing here? She remembered clearly putting it in the draw of her desk at home. Her robes too, they should've been in her wardrobe. She should be back in Muggle surroundings too. This was all wrong... Nobody even knew how they'd ended up back at the school, and that worried her the most. As much as she hated the idea, she knew deep down that Voldemort was behind this.

Something needed to be done, and with her roommates spending time consoling each other, Hermione knew that it was probably up to herself. She could hear the racket from down in the common room, that had started a while ago according to Lavender, and decided to leave the peace of the dorm to take control of the house and get things sorted out.

**¬**

The noise practically doubled as soon as she opened the heavy wooden door from the dormitory and grew steadily louder as she descended the steps towards the arch at the bottom that led to the room. She'd barely walked through it when two entangled lads flew past her, fighting tooth and nail, and she was just about to scold them when a deafening blast shook the room around them, one that rattled the windows in their frames, and more importantly silenced the entire room.

She glanced across the room to see Ron standing halfway up the stairs to the boys' dorms, wand pointing up at the ceiling. "For once Mr. Weasley comes to the rescue!" she almost cried, before it dawned upon her that he probably needed rescuing himself now! Sure enough, he just stood there, looking thoroughly unsure of what to say, and Hermione detected the Gryffindor crowd getting agitated again.

Thinking fast, she shouted out a loud "thank you Ronald" before pushing her way through the mass of students to get to him. Reaching him on the stairs, she gave him a quick 'thank you' smile, before turning to the mass of Gryffindor students below. She just caught sight of Landender and Parvati coming through the arch from their dorm, evidently wondering where Hermione had gone off to.

"Ok, I know that everyone's wondering what on Earth is going on here," she started, noticing a number of nods of approval before continuing. "But fighting between ourselves isn't the answer. Really, I'd expect that from Slytherin, not from Gryffindor. And using magic too, you should all be ashamed..."

The room was silent, even the random coughs and twitchings had stopped now. But Hermione didn't even notice, she was in full swing! "What we need now is-" she started, aiming to sort out what everyone knew, or more likely didn't know. But she was cut off as the room shook once again, and they were all plunged into darkness. Commotion broke out once again in the room, and then she felt her body go limp as she stood. Thoughts raced through her brain, and the last one before she passed out was that this latest turn of events wasn't going to be good...

**¬**

Blackness again, all around her as she gradually regained consciousness, opening her eyes and bringing her surroundings into a blurry view. She screwed them shut again before reopening them, the blurs gradually becoming more focused. Looking around, she saw that she was in a room, the walls, floor, and ceiling made of grey stone blocks. There were no windows, and no candles or torches anywhere to be seen, yet the room was somehow lit. And there was no door. It was at that moment she remembered the events of the morning, and the common room going into darkness as she found herself fainting. The day had taken another turn for the worse, it seemed.

And things didn't get better. She realised she was leaning against one of the walls, or rather, tied to one of the walls. Her hands were above her head, clasped together. Looking up, Hermione saw nothing between herself and the wall, and realised some kind of magical spell was holding her in that position. Her legs were also clasped at the ankles, making standing difficult, though it was impossible to sit down with her hands tied to the wall higher up.

"Hermione!"

Her name was whispered urgently, and she instinctively looked in the direction it came. She gasped, it was Ron, tied up in a similar position to her, also no physical evidence. Magic again. He looked as uncomfortable as herself, and unusually for Ron, he didn't have a grin of some kind on his face, that grin he always wore regardless of how chaotic things seemed.

"Ron, you're ok!" she whispered back, not knowing exactly why they were whispering, but doing it all the same.

He nodded back. "None of us are hurt, so at least they don't want us dead."

Not yet at least, Hermione thought, though she knew better than to voice that opinion. "Where are we?" she asked, knowing that Ron probably didn't have a clue. He confirmed that thought with a shrug of his shoulders, and was about to speak too, when the room suddenly went black, and a chill crept over Hermione's skin. Then a whispered voice filled the room, nothing she could understand, yet one she knew instantly who it belonged to. Only one person could have a voice that evil, that sinister... Then the room became light again, and he was stood in the centre of it, a few yards from Ron and herself, every bit as horrible as she'd ever imagined. Thin slits for nostrils, pale white skin, a deep black robe falling from his head to the floor. And the eyes, darker than the robe itself, yet alive with a fire of hate. She wanted to scream, but found her body too stricken to even do that. And Voldemort grinned, a twisted grin that only served to make himself more fearsome. And then he spoke, a snakelike voice hissing his words low and clear...

"I don't believe we've met..."

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_OK as it happened that chapter didn't sort things out as I had promised, but I do promise the next one will! Hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and I'll get down to writing the next chapter much quicker than this one has taken me :-)_


	4. Ladies And Gentlemen, The Plan

**H E X A D E C I M A L**

**¬**

**A VermillionSky Story**

**¬**

_Disclaimer: This fic is rated M and will most likely contain the following at some point in the story - swearing, acts of violance, and scenes of a sexual nature. If you don't like the idea of that, then turn back. I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned, and this is a non-profitable piece of work._

_Foreword: So this is where I finally reveal where the story is going - the fourth chapter - only two chapters after I'd planned! Anyhows, hope you all enjoy it, and as usual, reviews are much appreciated..._

**¬**

**P A R T - IV**  
Ladies And Gentlemen - The Plan

**¬**

Ron had been conscious for what had seemed like an eternity before she'd stirred. He'd opened his eyes to see stone walls surrounding him. A room with no windows or doors. He would've panicked anyway, but upon seeing Hermione tied up in the same way as him, but not moving, he'd nearly fainted with fright. But he'd gained control of himself, gritted his teeth, and after realising the magic keeping him against the wall wasn't going to be broken, he'd waited anxiously to see whether 'Mione would wake up, or if other events would unfold before she did.

Just when he was about to give up and scream out loud though, his friend twitched, and he saw her take in her surroundings, not noticing him at first. He couldn't contain his happiness, and only just managed to keep his voice to a whisper as he spoke her name. She gasped when she saw him.

"Ron, you're ok!"

He nodded back, glad to see she was fine, and deciding to put a brave face on things. He didn't want to appear frightened. "None of us are hurt, so at least they don't want us dead."

"Where are we?" she asked. Ron shrugged back, his guess was as good as hers, though he did reckon-

The room suddenly went black.

Ron felt a chill creep over his body, and started to shiver as he stood there, at first from the cold, but then from sheer fright, as a voice filled the room, one that Ron recognised immediately. It was You-Know-Who, and when the room became light again, it was confirmed. He stood in the center of the floor, thin slits for nostrils, pale white skin, a long black robe covering his body.

And then he spoke, hissing his words low but clear, as he looked directly at them.

"I don't believe we've met..."

¬

None of them spoke. Indeed, he thought to himself, what the hell was he supposed so say? Had his arms not been tied above his head, and had his wand been in his pocket, Ron would've had his it in one hand already, worthless though it would surely be against the Dark Lord.

Voldemort spun away from them both, after staring at them for a while longer. Maybe he'd expected a different reaction, but whatever it was, Ron had soon forgotten about it.

"Wha-" Hermione started to say, but instantly the wizard turned and cut her short.

"We have no time for idle chat!" his voice spun around them, and the light in the room brightened slightly as his anger flashed briefly. But then he was calm again, in control, and began pacing the room slowly in front of them, slowly.

"You will no doubt by now have realised where you are," he started, stopping on the last word to stare at them both again. Then he grinned and began pacing again, saying, almost to himself "even Gryffindors such as yourselves should've worked that one out..."

"And no doubt, this will have left you and the rest of the fools in this place confused," he continued, making hand gestures as he spoke, as if speaking to millions of witches and wizards, not just two students. "As you shouldn't be here," he stopped again, and looked at them with a glint in his eyes.

"You shouldn't be here," he repeated slowly, letting the words sink in. "Hogwarts isn't a safe place to be any more, Dumbledore's dead, the magic protecting this place is unravelling as we speak. You were never coming back!" He chuckled to himself, but before Ron had had time to think properly, he was already continuing on.

"So, why are you here?" he asked, though obviously not expecting an answer from either of his audience, as he then suddenly took his wand out of his pocket, and pointed it at them both. Hermione shrieked out loud, Ron though, had found himself in a kind of trance, and hardly thought anything of the fact that Voldemort was calling out a spell of some kind, and then he found the room around him spinning as it melted away, and a voice somewhere whispering "Wormtail will reveal the plan to you now."

Then blackness. Again.

¬

Ron came to in completely different place, this time seated in a red cushioned armchair. His vision came back quickly, and to his bewilderment now found himself seated in a semicircle of chairs in amazingly cosy surroundings. A log fire crackled on the side of the circle opposite him, and candles burned in brackets on the red stone walls around. The light was dim, but peaceful.

"Ron, you're awake!"

The voice was whispered, and looking in its direction, Ron saw that the other seats in the room were all being sat in. It was Hermione who'd called him - she was sat in the seat to his right. He tried to get up, and found magic binding him to the seat. Not as cosy as things looked...

"It's no use," came a voice from one of the other chairs. Ron looked in it's direction to see a girl he didn't know by name, but recognised as being from Hufflepuff. He collapsed back in his seat.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" he asked, glancing around at his new roommates. There were eight chairs, and from left to right around the semicircle contained the Hufflepuff girl, a guy he didn't recognise, Hermione, himself, then a girl and boy he knew were from Ravenclaw, a girl from Slytherin, and finally - Draco Malfoy. They were all conscious, though saying very little, each lost in their own thoughts. He turned back to Hermione, who shrugged.

"We're all clueless, but I'm sure we'll be finding out soon enough." she whispered. "Everyone here has one thing in common, we're all prefects."

Ron looked around again, and sure enough, everyone was a prefect. Bizarrely, they all had their prefects badges on. A piece of the puzzle slotted into place in his head - so that was why his badge had been here at Hogwarts... In the room were the effective "leaders" at the school now, not counting the teachers.

"Where are we?" he asked, trying to strain his neck to look behind him. It was the guy he didn't recognise who answered.

"Teacher's lounge, I've been here before."

Nobody asked the obvious question of 'why', but then again, it wasn't important. They had other things on their minds.

¬

They'd been waiting for around half an hour before the sound of a door opening filled the room. Ron couldn't see what was going on, but he wasn't kept in the dark for long before a shape moved past his chair and into the centre of the circle. A low, hunched body, quite unlike Voldemort's tall straight stance. Ron had already guessed who it was before they spun around infront of the fire to face the seated students. It was Wormtail.

"Welcome, prefects of Hogwarts," he started, speaking energetically. "We've kept you waiting long enough, so at last, Ladies and gentlemen - the plan!"

"Wha-" Malfoy started, but stopped the instant Wormtail turned to glare at him.

"No interruptions," he said, before continuing on. "The fall of Hogwarts at the end of your last term was a great moment for Lord Voldemort and all who support him. Dumbledore was killed, and a major piece in the battle against us was removed along with him."

Where was this going, Ron thought, glancing across at Hermione. She looked back and shrugged. Wormtail was oblivious.

"So naturally, we expected the Ministry to back down. Give us what we wanted. They had no dice, nothing to play with. We held all the cards. We made threats, pretty big ones. They didn't budge. And then we came up with an idea... A threat so bad that the Ministry of Magic couldn't possibly fail to accept our demands, and a threat so powerful that the world of magic would shake to it's very foundations... We'd kill every pupil in Hogwarts!"

Silence around the room. Did he really just say that? All eight pairs of eyes didn't even blink.

"But the Lord, in all his greatness, decided it was too easy. Too mundane. Nothing special, nothing memorable. And we want to destroy the foundations of modern wizardry, not just shake them! So we decided on a game. A game of life and death. A game with only one winner, and everybody else losers. It'd be a war with no sides. Where nobody but yourself matters! And the players of this game will be the students of Hogwarts!"

"You mean-" the Hufflepuff girl started, but Wormtail stopped her quickly.

"Yes, I mean that we're starting the Battle Of Hogwarts, a free for all battle between every student in Hogwarts. And like all competitions, there's a fabulous prize awaiting the victor. The last person alive wins the chance to face none other than the Boy-Who-Lived, Mr. Harry Potter himself, in a true wizarding dual!"

¬

_Reviews, good or bad, are always welcome. Hope you're enjoying the story, and once I get down to writing the next chapter it should flow along nicely. Until then, check out my website and my other fics, hopefully you'll like them!_


	5. On The Count Of Three

**H E X A D E C I M A L**

**¬**

**A VermillionSky Story**

**¬**

_Disclaimer: This fic is rated M and will most likely contain the following at some point in the story - swearing, acts of violance, and scenes of a sexual nature. If you don't like the idea of that, then turn back. I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned, and this is a non-profitable piece of work._

_Foreword: Another chapter that's taken me a while to write, but reading it through it's pretty good, and all the bits that I knew I'd struggle with are all dealt with now. It should keep you going until chapter six is complete, maybe in another two months or so ;-)_

**¬**

**P A R T - V  
**On The Count Of Three

**¬**

Hermione couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Had Wormtail really just said that? The whole of Hogwarts fighting each other? A wizarding duel? Against Harry? She tried to gather her thoughts, but the room around her had errupted into commotion.

"You can't do this"  
"What if we refuse to fight"  
"This is insane!"

Everyone was shouting at once, except herself, and, she noticed, Draco. He was slouched in his chair, a look of twisted satisfaction clear upon his face. He was loving the idea. Had she not been bound to the chair, she would've jinxed him there and then, to wipe that look off his face. The commotion around continued, but at that moment Wormtail had had enough. He spun to face the prefects, yelling "SILENCE!" as he did so. It had the desired effect, shutting everyone up instantly.

"Say all you want, the plan will not be changed because of the whinings of some teenagers," he began, "You'll notice that all of you have your wands, as does everyone here. And you've all got your robes too. Other than that, everyone starts off even. You may use anything you find, there are no rules in this game. The last person alive is the victor."

"What if we refuse to fight?" It was Ron, blurting out rubbish as usual. Hermione knew what answer Wormtail would give before he even gave it.

"If you refuse to fight, then you'll be killed. If you hide, you'll be found. There's only one way out of this, and that's to win!" Wormtail shouted, his happiness evident. He then turned to face the fireplace behind him, and stared into it. The 'meeting' was coming to a end. "If you have any further questions, then tough luck. You'll now all be returned to your common rooms, who've all just heard what's been said in here. Who knows, maybe they'll be fighting already! Enjoy the game!"

And with that, the couch melted away from her sides, and the room pitched into darkness.

**¬**

Ginny Weasley sat huddled up against the stone wall at the top of the staircase to the boys' dorms. This was the safest place she'd been able to get to, protected from the rest of the room below by the stone wall of the stairs, and with nobody in the dorms behind her. Her wand was gripped tightly in one hand, shaking with the tension, aimed vaguely down the stairs.

"Get a grip, Ginny," she mumbled to herself. But her body wouldn't let her. Why was this happening? Why did You-Know-Who want such a thing? Why did it always have to be herself in the middle of everything? Questions with no answers. She suddenly felt small, huddled up in her hiding place, the sudden realisation of what was happening to her finally setting in. The wand's aim became steadily less centered, and Ginny Weasley began to cry.

**¬**

The common room spun into Hermione's view once again, and she found herself landing slap bang in the middle of it. Sparks flew all around, bolts and flashes of spells fizzing past her head, as she flung herself onto the ground. The barriers around her blocked the spells aimed in her direction - she'd be safe for a moment.

Barriers? Her brain was just catching up with her, and she turned her head, still lying flat on the stone floor, to see just what the barrier was. Shards of wood from the tables, furniture. And a body. Multiple bodies. She screamed out loud, though the noise of the room easily drowned her out, and screwed her eyes shut. For a moment she just lay there, motionless amongst fallen Gryffindors, eyes closed, and she might well have stayed there, had she not heard a faint voice calling out her name.

She opened her eyes. The whole room seemed quieter than it had done. And then there was her name being called again. She turned to glance behind her, and saw Ron lying flat next to her, his lips mouthing something. And in an instant, the room shot back into true perspective. The blurs of her vision sharpened, and the sounds intensified.

"Hermione!"

Ron was shouting at her at the top of his voice, yet even though he was right next to her she could only just make out what he was saying. She nodded back that she'd heard him, and saw his look of concern disappear somewhat.

"I can't believe this is happening!" he shouted at her. Then something she didn't quite catch. Something about Hogwarts students actually fighting each other. And then it finally sunk in. They were actually fighting for their lives now. Up until that moment, Hermione had thought, at the back of her mind, that everything would come out okay. Someone would save them. The students wouldn't fight amongst themselves.

But there was no help. No Dumbledore. And if the Gryffindor house was in turmoil, then the other houses would be too. And here was Ron and herself, lying down in the center of a battlefield. Glancing up, she noticed that the explosions seemed to have lessened slightly, though the sparks of jinxes could still be seen as they flew past.

"We need to get away from the common room," she shouted to Ron. He nodded back, and she saw him pop his head above their cover, looking for an escape. A hex spun past, purple haze missing him by inches as he ducked quickly back down.

"There's a group blocking the main entrance," he shouted, pointing as he spoke. "And the stairway to the girls' rooms looks to be guarded too."

Her mind was already racing. "That leaves the boys' dorms... Do they look clear?"

He glanced above their cover again, looking over Hermione's head in the opposite direction again before ducking back down. "They look okay."

They looked at each other, both thinking the same question - do we go for it? Ron answered for the both of them. "Better than lying here."

Hermione took a breath, and nodded. "Think a Flash spell for cover, and we make a run for it? On the count of three?" He nodded his approval, after a moment's thought. Here goes nothing, she thought. Let's see if all that reading is actually any use...

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Her hand grabbed her wand and thrust it skywards, her mouth screaming the word "IXIO!" as she did so. Instantly the room was filled with a vivid white light, so bright she could see nothing around her.

And then she was on her feet, and running as fast as she could. She stumbled on something on the floor, but regained her balance. The light was clearing fast, and there was no way she could cast another spell - she was breathless already. And then the stairs came into view. She flung herself around them and stumbled upwards, keeping her head below the stone banister, reaching the top before collapsing in a heap. The spell had almost vanished now, the whole room was in view.

She felt a person move behind her, Ron had made it!

"We did it," she beamed, spinning around to face him. But it wasn't the face of Ronald Weasley that met her. It was Ginny.

**¬**

_Reviews, good or bad, are always welcome. Hope you're enjoying the story, and until the next chapter, check out the newest version of my website and my other fics, hopefully you'll like them..._


	6. Get A Grip, Ginny

**H E X A D E C I M A L**

**¬**

**A VermillionSky Story**

**¬**

_Disclaimer: This fic is rated M and will most likely contain the following at some point in the story - swearing, acts of violance, and scenes of a sexual nature. If you don't like the idea of that, then turn back. I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned, and this is a non-profitable piece of work._

_Foreword: Once I got down to writing this chapter it flowed along really nicely, though I'm not totally sure why I didn't get down to writing it sooner... Anyhow, enjoy.  
_

**¬**

**P A R T - VI**  
Get A Grip, Ginny

**¬**

Neville couldn't believe it. Hermione and Ron had just started to get everyone calmed down again, and the fighting between the house had ceased, when another deafening roar had shaken the common room once again, they'd been plunged into darkness, and once the room came back into view the two Prefects were nowhere to be seen. Another commotion broke out, he heard a girl's voice declare that they were all doomed, only for others to argue against that point. Before he knew it the Gryffindors were shouting at each other again.

"This is insane."

He recognised Dean Thomas' voice immediately, and turned to find him at his side, an expression of disbelief clear upon his face. Looking at the fracas around them, Neville could only nod his agreement. Dean leaned closer to him and whispered something about moving somewhere 'til things quietened down, but the noise of arguments around them made it impossible to make out the words. He continued staring at the chaos of the room for a moment longer, then turned to follow his roommate out of the place.

They were almost at the stairs to their dorm when a voice suddenly filled the room, loud as thunder and clear as daylight. A man's voice, it had cut in midway through a sentence, and the shock of it was more than enough to once again stop the arguments and scuffles present throughout the common room.

"-the Battle Of Hogwarts, a free for all battle between every student in Hogwarts. And like all competitions, there's a fabulous prize awaiting the victor. The last person alive wins the chance to face none other than the Boy-Who-Lived, Mr. Harry Potter himself, in a true wizarding dual!"

A murmuring sprung up between the students, did they just hear that correctly? Before anyone could say anything though, they heard more voices resonate through the room. "What if we refuse to fight," and

"This is insane!" among others. Was that Ron's voice he'd just heard? He turned to Dean.

"Was that Ron?"

Dean nodded slowly. "We should get out of here."

Neville couldn't have agreed more. They edged their way past the rest of the students, most of whom standing motionless, perplexed by the events unfolding around them. He caught sight of Seamus in deep conversation with some of the lads from the NEWT year who Neville didn't know by name. He thought about calling out to him, before a "SILENCE!" echoed around the room. It had the desired effect. Neville stopped, wanting to hear what the voice was going to say, but Dean tugged at his robes.

"Let's get going, while we can." The porthole past the Fat Lady was already being pushed open by his friend, and knowing it was the best thing to do, Neville followed Dean out of the room, leaving behind his fellow Gryffindors listening to the voice.

**¬**

"Say all you want, the plan will not be changed because of the whinings of some teenagers," the man continued. Ginny was sure she'd heard the voice somewhere before, but couldn't place it. She'd heard Ron's anguished cries a moment before, and she knew that this was all for real. Ron's acting skills left something to be desired, if he was lieing she'd have noticed instantly. Then, suddenly, she realised that she had to get somewhere safe. "You'll notice that all of you have your wands..." the voice went on.

She noticed, for the first time, her wand being inside the pocket of her robes, and instinctively readied it. Looking around, she noticed with a terrible feeling that most people around her were doing the same. She made up her mind to get to safety as fast as she could.

"...robes too. Other than that, everyone starts off even..."

She made her way to the porthole. The common room was probably the worst place to be. "...anything you find, there are no rules in this game. The last person alive is the victor..."

And with that, the voice faded away. At first, their was silence. Ginny neared the exit. She was almost there.

And then a Hex hit the wall right in front of her. She stopped, turning to see one of the younger boys aiming his wand directly at her. "And where do you think you're going?" he asked, a faintest grin appearing on his face. Ginny found herself unable to reply, a lump forming in her throat as she froze. A Gryffindor, aiming to kill her? This couldn't be happening...

Other voices sprung up around them. "Tom you fool, can't you see that's what these people want?!" "Leave her alone, we can't fight like this!"

The boy called Tom glanced around, only now aware his actions weren't the smartest, but he kept his composure, and declared "If the prize is a fight against Potter, I'll gladly fight my way to him."

There was silence again. Ginny's heart pounded against her chest. And then one of the other students aimed his wand at Tom. "If you hurt her, it'll be the last thing you do." A girl followed suit, with a murmured "sorry Tom, but as a friend, I can't let you do this."

A standoff was developing right before her eyes, and Ginny saw Tom glancing left and right at his newly-declared enemies. Evaluating the situation. But he didn't act, and everyone remained where they were, wands at the ready. Poised for action. Ginny reorganised her thoughts, and slowly raised her wand. Ever so slowly, so that her would-be attacker wouldn't notice. If she could get it to a good angle she might just be able to get off a Hex at him and shield herself before he reacted. Ever so slowly. Almost there. Tom's eyes continued to dart left and right. He hadn't seen.

And with a crash, everything went wrong. Someone shouted something at the other side of the room, and a burst of flames spouted up from nowhere. Suddenly everyone was panicking, and Tom yelled "Impedimentum!" before the boy who'd first stood up to him elbowed him in the face. Ginny instinctively screamed out "Protego", and the jinx deflected skywards. And then she was running. She caught a glance of Tom on the floor, blood gushing from his nose. But she didn't feel any pity. Didn't feel anything. Spells flew in all directions, and someone fell into her, knocking her to the floor.

Her knees met the floor with a thud, but her gasp of pain was lost amongst the various incantations being flung all around. She looked back to see who'd fallen into her, and found herself staring to the face of one of the older girls, eyes wide open, mouth frozen in a scream. Dead? Ginny found herself lost, and fear threatened to overcome her. And then the girl blinked, gasped, and began to move again. The Weasley girl found her confidence coming back. Nobody could do the killing curse at Hogwarts, only stunning spells and the like. The girls caught each other's eyes, and seeing her new friend glancing round, new they needed to find a safe spot. The girl obviously had the same idea.

"The stairs to the boy's dorms!" she shouted above the racket. "We can make it if we run."

Ginny nodded, but the girl was already getting up. She sprang to her own feet after her, and raced to the stairs. A Hex fizzed past her, crazily close, and then she was at the stairs. It was like she was seeing things in a storyboard format now. Nothing was continous, events seemed to pass her individually. Jump up. Running. Narrow miss from a Hex. Stairs. Clambouring up.

And then she reached the top. And realised she was alone. The girl hadn't made it. Slouched up against the stone wall at the top of the stairs, she gripped her wand in her hand and aimed it down the stairs, waiting for someone to come charging up. Knowing that in all probability she'd have to stop them. But then it all seemed to catch up to her at once. The chaos around her, the noise levels in the room, everyone still fighting it out between them. Surely this couldn't be happening to her, even You-Know-Who couldn't possibly have organised a fate such as this...?

"Get a grip, Ginny," she mumbled to herself. But her body wouldn't let her. Why was this happening? Why did You-Know-Who want such a thing? Why did it always have to be herself in the middle of everything? Questions with no answers. She suddenly felt small, huddled up in her hiding place, the sudden realisation of what was happening to her finally setting in. The wand's aim became steadily less centered, and Ginny Weasley began to cry...

**¬**

She noticed the person flinging themselves up the stairs far too late to get any kind of a jinx off at them, but she found herself not caring about it. Let them kill me, let's get this over with, she thought glumly. But the person didn't attack her, and instead flung themselves against the wall next to her, breathing heavily. Bushy brown hair covered the girl's face, but Ginny now knew who's face it was. Her sense of isolation that had brought upon her breaking down vanished. Alone she could do nothing, but with help, maybe, just maybe, they could find a way out of this...

"We made it!" Hermione said, turning to face her, beaming at first, then shock appearing on her face as she saw someone she obviously hadn't expected to see. Ginny knew she hadn't been the only person losing someone en-route to the stairs. And Ginny had a feeling that Hermione had expected to find Ron crouching next to her...

**¬**

_At long last, but well worth it, I really liked that chapter myself. I'm enjoying re-writing scenes from various other students' perspectives, and though it's a little harder to read because of it, hopefully this fic will be all the better for that. Please review with your thoughts._


	7. Can't Take Any Chances

**H E X A D E C I M A L**

**¬**

**A VermillionSky Story**

**¬**

_Disclaimer: This fic is rated M and will most likely contain the following at some point in the story - swearing, acts of violance, and scenes of a sexual nature. If you don't like the idea of that, then turn back. I don't own any of the characters or places mentioned, and this is a non-profitable piece of work._

_Foreword: Ploughing on with the next chapter, despite the lack of reviews. They aren't everything, but I'd hoped for a wider audience for this particular fic. Anyhow, I'm enjoying writing it, so on with the story._

**¬**

**P A R T - VII  
**Can't Take Any Chances  
**  
¬**

Ginny looked right back at Hermione, shock clear in her expression, and before Hermione could say anything, the red haired girl was crying into her shoulder, her sobs ringing in her ears, clinging on to her as if nothing else in the world mattered. Hermione shared her fear, but she found herself strangely detached from the proceedings, only gingerly returning the hug, her thoughts elsewhere. Ron hadn't made it to the stairs, something had happened. And she hadn't helped. She hadn't even noticed.

But he couldn't be dead. It just wasn't possible, this shouldn't be happening...

A jolt of sadness hit her, she wanted to cry but knew she wouldn't. She - they - were safe for the moment, but it was only a matter of time before everyone left in the common room began to spread out and defend themselves. Or attack others. Voldemort's plan was working, if the Gryffindors were fighting, the other houses would surely be fighting too. As Ginny's sobs slowly subsided, Hermione's mind began to map out a plan.

**¬**

The boys moved cautiously down the corridor. It was the middle of the day, light streaming in through the windows. The grounds outside were deserted, Neville noticed, from a quick glance outside, as he and Dean continued on, wands at the ready. What he'd actually do If fighting really did break out, he didn't know. He just couldn't imagine himself attacking a fellow student. Unless they were from Slytherin. But that's what You-Know-Who wants, he told himself. Everyone fighting amongst themselves, destroying the future of the wizarding community in the process.

Hogwarts was unusually quiet around them, no doubt everyone was still in their common rooms. Refusing to fight? Hopefully, but he had a feeling things wouldn't turn out like that. And numerous questions continually occured to him. Where were the teachers? And what about everyone's parents? He'd never gotten on that well with his grandmother, but with a sudden pang of sorrow, he hoped that he'd see her again. Hoped that everyone would come out of this okay.

And then Dean stopped, holding out a hand behind him to signal Neville to stop too. Tightening his grip on his wand, Dean edged forwards. What he'd seen or heard Neville didn't know, but he stayed close behind, as alert as he could be. Nothing. Silence all around them. And then the faint sound of footsteps.

"Shit," muttered Dean, glancing back at his friend. They listened a moment longer. The footsteps were gradually getting louder.

"We can't stay here," Neville said, speaking for the both of them, as they turned and ran, looking for the nearest room. If only the Room of Requirement was nearby, he couldn't help thinking, as they turned a corner. He saw Dean push open the first door they'd seen, and darted in after, the oaken door moving swiftly shut behind them as their breathing gradually returned to normal.

"Ph-" he started, but he was cut off as the other boy pointed his wand at the door and said "mufflilato", before pocketing it.

"Can't take any chances," he said, a faint grin appearing on his face. Neville nodded.

"So what do we do now?"

None of them could think of an answer, an immediate solution to their problems. But it quickly dawned on Neville that no answer wasn't a bad answer. Staying exactly where they now were was in all likelihood the best course of action. He voiced his thoughts to his friend, who was understandably unnerved by the lack of action at first, but he quickly saw the benefits. Stay put, don't run into trouble, and think of a better plan in the meantime.

Between them, they set about reorganising the room to their liking. It was a classroom neither of them had ever used, and it's use eluded them, such was its lack of character. Three rows of desks and chairs stood before a front desk. No windows, no cupboards, no draws. Not even a book in sight. Dean's guess of Ancient History seemed to be the best bet, though Transfiguration was a possibility. Why couldn't they have run into a classroom with some books? For the first time in his time at Hogwarts, Neville found himself lamenting the lack of any dense textbooks!

Of the two, Dean was the better wizard, and after they'd both cast as many locking spells on the door, he managed to transfigure two of the chairs into (fairly decent, Neville had to admit) sofas. They pushed the remaining chairs and tables in the way of the door, and then sank back into the cushions. They hadn't heard a sound since their entry, and it stayed that way, as the time ticked by.

**¬**

Draco hummed to himself as victim number four (or was it five) crumpled to the floor in front of him. It was a special kill - the first time Avada Kedavra had actually worked! The previous victims had in fact been dispatched by a combination of Hexs and physical violence courtesy of Crabbe and Goyle. He'd have to get rid of them too, he thought to himself, and for the first time since the earlier announcement of the "competition" Draco Malfoy felt saddened by what he was doing. But he couldn't be seen to be sad. He brushed the solitary tear away as though it was only sweat, kept the grin on his face, and proceeded along the corridor, flanked by his bodyguards.

Fighting in Slytherin had broken out almost at once, spells flying everywhere. Nobody had thought to group together, and since few people knew proper spells he and Blaise Zabini had set about with punches and kicks, fighting their way out of the common room. Blaise hadn't reached the door, a stunning spell caught him, and Draco had panicked, fleeing. Not one of his best moments, but thankfully it seemed only Crabbe had seen him run, and in turn had grabbed Goyle and followed, in an uncharacteristic bout of common sense.

He knew exactly where he was headed - the Room of Requirement. He didn't want to admit it, but if those Gryffindors managed to somehow gather together as the DA again, this whole plan of Voldemort's wasn't going to come together as planned. And with the possibility of a dual against the oh-so-great Harry Potter as the prize, Draco knew that he had to emerge as the one and only victor.

It hadn't escaped him that the whole scenario stank, and it was with a wandering mind that he continued the kills, knowing that it was either them or himself. Survival was paramount, as long as he kept on killing he stayed alive, and the constant violence took his mind away from the shiteness of the world around him. He'd probably break down completely if it didn't. But of course he'd never let anyone know that.

**¬**

_Coming along quite nicely I think. Please please review with your thoughts, whatever they may be. It's getting frustrating to see the lack of them, depsite the effort I'm putting into this... Mini-rant over, and stay tuned for the next chapters..._


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